Serendipity Estate Sale Find

Sunday's Washington Post:
A story about the dairy business in the DC area. (Click to enlarge.)

 

They had a band! That became the Redskins Marching Band!  

Here's some history from the Brawner Bulletin,  Vol. 2, No. 1 Fall 1996

 MILK BARON

One of Northern Virginia’s most prominent natives is

Henry Newlon Brawner, Jr. (1876-1937), whose turnof-

the-century one-horse dairy became by the time of his

death one of Washington, DC’s largest dairies. In 1896,

George M. Oyster Jr. started Chestnut Farms Dairy and

five years later hired Henry Brawner as a bookkeeper.

During their tenure together, the strict Mr. Oyster would

often fire an employee for a slight rules infraction, only

to have Henry hire him back later the same day. Mr.

Oyster died in 1921, and Henry continued as the sole

owner of the dairy. In 1925, Henry, who was known for

his expertise in business, engineering and finance, built

a large dairy at Pennsylvania Avenue and 26th Street in

Washington DC. “The new dairy plant “was widely

known for its beauty of design and arrangement, its

efficiency, and the outstanding quality of its products

....” [Record of Progress, Chestnut Farms Dairy, by

George B. Taylor, 1929]. Several years later, Henry sold

the dairy to National Dairy Products Corp. for close to a

$3,000,000 profit and, in 1931, merged his interest with

Chevy Chase Dairy to become Chestnut Farms - Chevy

Chase Dairy.

In addition to his success in the dairy business, Henry

invested in real estate, sponsored the first Washington

Redskins Marching Band (stocked with Chestnut Farms

employees) and was active in a variety of church, civic

and charitable organizations.

Henry was born on a farm in what is now Loudon

County, Virginia. His father probably was the Henry N.

Brawner who fought with Mosby’s Rangers in the Civil

War. As a child, Henry’s family moved to Alexandria,

Virginia.

Henry married Edith Graham (1874-1933). With

Edith, Henry had two children, Sarah (married Edward

S. Pardoe) and Edgar N. Brawner. After Edith’s death,

Henry married his second wife, Iola.

Henry died suddenly of a heart attack on July 7, 1937

at his summer home at Cape Neddick, Maine. He had

been ill for several weeks, but his death was unexpected.

He was survived by his wife, Iola, son Edgar and

daughter Sarah Brawner Pardoe, all of Washington DC.

Edgar continued the family’s dairy business after his

father’s death.

[Thank you to Donald Virdin for providing a copy of

Henry Newlon Brawner, Jr.: Outline of His Career and

Accomplishments, which served as the source for much of the

information in this article. Other information came from the

Washington Herald, July 8, 1937 and the Washington Evening

Star, July 8 and July 9, 1937].

From Sunday's estate sale:  Chevy Chase Dairy started in 1885.  I'm guessing this is circa 1930's.

 

 

Don't cha luv it when it comes full circle?

I'm adding it to my bottle collection.